Hello 2013!

Happy New Year!

Okay, now that that's out of the way...

So this is apparently the time and place to sum up 2012 and plan for 2013.

Yeah.

Whatever.

:)

The garden on New Year's Day. I still have kale, collards and leeks!

I did learn a few things in 2012, the biggest being that I can't do everything all at once. I can either have a fantastic vegetable garden, or I can renovate my house. I cannot do both at the same time - well I can, but not perfectly. Thus, my plans for 2013 are to focus more on the house. Now that the kitchen is done, I'm getting really annoyed at the mess in the rest of the house. But, I also have a budget to think about, so everything isn't getting done all at once. My plan is to focus on one room at a time - and hopefully I'll have a big chunk of the house done by the time spring rolls around!

And I'm going to post the plan here, in hopes that I'll actually follow through...

2013 House Goals:

January: Living room. The drywall is up, and the first two coats on the seams. I have to finish the seams and paint. I have the fabric for curtains, which I'll need to make, and of course, all the trim, except for the baseboards and door casing, which has to wait until the floor is installed.

February: Main bedroom. The drywall is done (and has been for an embarrassingly long time), so I need to do the seams, paint and make or buy curtains.

March: Spare room. Same as the main bedroom.

Once those walls are done, I can get the floors done, and then the rest of the trim. Which is the goal for the end of April, budget willing. I'm going with engineered wood in those rooms, and it's not cheap!

During that time, Dad will be working on tearing out the old main bathroom, and turning the back addition into a new bathroom, a laundry area, a furnace room and a pantry/storage/freezer/dog room. I'll be helping, of course, and there will be drywall seams and painting to do as well in those areas.

So, the main goal is to have all the major renos and the walls done by the end of May, and depending on finances, the floor and trim might get done as well.

And then...

Well, it all depends on money. Once the inside of the house is done, I can focus on the outside. A back deck, new siding, and re-vamp the front porch. Then flower beds! I'm not planning on getting it all done this year, but I do want to get the inside done. Four years is long enough!!

As for the garden and food...

You may not have noticed, but I'm not great at keeping up to date on the various challenges I've started ;)

I want to do better at that, and better at posting over all. I'm going to try to post every day. We'll see how it goes!

I need to find local sources for more of my food, and to figure out a meal plan that works for me. The goal for 2013 is to start buying local beef, and to try to find a source for pork. I also need to re-vamp my herb garden, and to try to grow more of my own spices as well as herbs. I'll talk more about this in other posts!

And, even though I said I'd do it this year, I want to plan for a winter garden this coming year. I do have a few things in the garden right now, but not as much as I could have. Hopefully I'll have more storage come next summer, and I need to step up my game on food preservation.

Since the budget is going to be tight (see renos above!), I need to really watch what I'm spending on food and on garden seeds. I plan on limiting my food budget to $5 a week for a while.  I know - it sounds crazy, but I have a house full of food, and I need to start eating it!

And of course, I have personal goals - the main being walking the dogs once a day, and hopefully losing some weight in the process!

So, a few "small" goals to get me though 2013! Let's see what this next trip around the sun brings!